Healing Hearts
by feelthesarcasm
Summary: [DD Spoilers] After a tragedy, Simon adopts the young daughter of his mentor. His sister isn't too pleased and believes he's in way over his head. While he struggles to juggle parenthood and his prosecuting career, he meets recently disbarred lawyer Phoenix Wright and discovers their lives aren't that different from each other.
1. Chapter 1

Athena Cykes was eleven years old and lived in the Cosmos Space Center. While most kids would dream of living in a place like that, it wasn't always the greatest place in the world when you had sensitive hearing like she did. At night it was peaceful, the space center was surrounded by nothing but trees and open field. There were no cars or people yelling and only a few employees lived on the campus. But during the day it was controlled chaos. People coming in and out of every floor; leaving Athena with only her apartment, the psych lab and the robotics lab to be alone with her thoughts.

Still, there were some good things about it. Ponco and Clonco were two of her best friends who were also robots. They were friendly, fun and her height, but best of all they didn't have any emotions she could hear. So she didn't have to wear her big pink headphones when she was in the room with them.

Her mother was very nice and a brilliant Psychologist, but she was constantly working on the robots and other research with her partner Aura Blackquill, though Athena always referred to her as Miss Aura. She wasn't the nicest woman in the world and hated to be disturbed but loved Ponco and Clonco and from what Athena could feel, loved her mother as well. So while she usually avoided Aura unless it was absolutely necessary she was still quite attached to the lavender haired woman as well.

They usually worked alone, but one day Aura began bringing her little brother to the center. Athena knew his name was Simon and he was twenty years old but she had yet to meet him. Her mother didn't want to introduce her to people unless it was absolutely necessary, worried they wouldn't understand. She had never even seen Simon before, because her mother always made sure she was busy up in the apartment when he came.

It wasn't until about three months after his first visit when Juniper was unable to make a play date that she met him. She had wandered down from the apartment because she was lonely and wanted to play with one of the robots. She slowly slid open the door to the Psych lab.

"Athena, what are you doing down here, you're supposed to be upstairs." Her mother sighed.

"I was...just looking for Ponco." Athena mumbled, looking at her shoes. When she looked up, she noticed a young man sitting across from her mother.

"It's okay. Since you're here you might as well come over and introduce yourself." Her mother smiled motioning for her to come over.

She brought her hands up, making sure her headphones were secure as she walked over.

"Athena, this is Aura's brother Simon Blackquill."

Her eyes widened some as she looked at him. She had used her imagination to try and make a picture of Simon in her head and it was nothing like what he really looked like. She assumed he'd have lavender hair, like Miss Aura and wear light colors but in reality, he was dressed head to toe in black and dull grey. His dark jet black hair was stringy and he had a long bang that stopped right above his eyes.

"Athena, it's not nice to stare." Her mother whispered.

"It's alright Dr. Cykes. Most people usually expect me to resemble Aura a little." He smiled softly as he crouched down to eye level, his long black coat sprawling out along the floor. "It's nice to meet you Athena."

Simon had only heard bits and pieces about Athena through Aura because his mentor didn't really like discussing her daughter if it wasn't necessary. Just as she was about to speak, Aura interrupted. "Metis, I need you in the robotics lab."

"I'll be right back you two." She smiled going to the other room.

When he straightened back up, she took in just how tall the man was. He towered over her like a skyscraper. Now the two of them stood in silence. Athena shuffled her feet back and forth when she sensed Simon seemed to be as quiet and nervous as she was.

"Are you shy?" She mumbled.

Simon looked up when he heard the girl's voice, though it was barely above a whisper. "I suppose you could say that…"

She walked closer to him. "You don't have to be shy around me. I'm just a little girl."

He smiled softly. "Well, you don't have to be shy around me either, I'm just your mom's student."

Athena smiled at his response and even let a small giggle escape, readjusting the headphones on her head. "Do you build robots like Miss Aura?"

Simon shook his head. "I'm not really good at that kind of stuff. I'm more of a book nerd." He joked. That was one of Aura's favorite insults. "I'm a prosecutor."

The small girl tilted her head a little. "What's a prosecutor?"

"Well I represent the state of California to…..I take people to court and punish them when they do something bad."

She smiled at him. "That sounds cool, but I think I'd rather work with robots like Aura." She went over to the drawer getting out some paper and her colored pencils, feeling much more relaxed around the tall man. "I was supposed to draw with my friend Juniper, but she had a doctor's appointment and couldn't come. Do you want to draw with me?" She asked, holding a paper out to him.

He took the paper. "I….I'm not very good at drawing."

"That's okay, I won't mind." She said sitting down on the floor.

Simon slowly took his coat off and sat down on the floor next to her, grabbing the black colored pencil. "So is Juniper your best friend?"

Athena hesitated a minute before answering. "Juniper's my only friend, besides Ponco and Clonco. I can't go to school that much because of my special ability and kids think my headphones are weird…."

He frowned slightly at that. "Well I like your headphones, they're a nice pink."

She giggled softly looking up to meet his eyes. "I like pink and yellow. I don't really like my headphones though, they're heavy and they make my head hurt but my mom gets angry if I take them off." Her hands went up to touch them slightly before she huffed. "Do you have a lot of friends Simon?"

Simon knew what her headphones were for as Aura had helped design them but it was obvious she wouldn't be able to understand so he left the subject alone. "I like to stay to myself a lot so I don't really have many friends."

"It's because you're shy right? It's hard to make friends when you think people won't understand you." She responded, looking back down at her drawing. "I'll be your friend."

He smiled. "Only if I get to be your friend."

She nodded her head at him as the two continued to draw together in peaceful silence until Dr. Cykes and Aura returned.

"Well, it looks like we didn't have to come rushing back afterall, your brother seems to have everything handled." Metis smiled coming back over to Athena.

Aura raised an eyebrow eyeing Simon. "Yes, why am I not surprised? It's time for us to go home."

"Will you be coming back Simon?" Athena asked quietly.

He nodded handing her the colored pencils. "Of course I will, I'll see you later."

Over the next few weeks Simon continued meeting with Dr. Cykes who he greatly respected and got to know Athena a little more as well. Soon she was greeting him at the door with smiles and hugs and competing with her mother for Simon's attention. He made sure to try his best to visit Athena while in a good mood so there would be little interference with her hearing.

* * *

Back at the apartment he shared with Aura, he sat on the living room floor. Notes and papers from a case he was working on one side and a psychology book Dr. Cykes had given him on the other side. Aura walked in from out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"Must you do that all over the living room floor?"

He looked up from his papers snorting slightly. "You don't see me complaining when you bring home your robot parts and blueprints."

She rolled her eyes a bit sitting down on the couch. "So how's the whole psychology thing in court going?"

Simon was a bit suspicious; Aura could usually never be bothered with courtroom matters. "It's really been giving me an edge in court, especially during interrogations because I know better questions to ask to get the answers I want."

"So I suppose you won't be having too many more meetings with Dr. Cykes?"

He looked at her slightly confused. "I didn't say that. I'm sure there's still a lot I can learn from her. And she's really good for consultations too."

"Well she's busy with her own work Simon, she can't keep helping you all the time." Aura huffed.

A smirk slowly formed along Simon's lips. "Dear sister, are you trying to persuade me to stay away from your research partner for some reason?"

She stayed silent and glared at him. God did she hate that smirk of his. Aura wasn't about to give Simon the satisfaction of knowing she was jealous of him. It was bad enough she had to hear about her baby brother being a talented Prosecutor. Now she had to go to work and listen to Metis gush about not only how much of a natural he was at learning Psychology, but how impressed she was with how he was able to connect with Athena. Two things she herself was not good at.

Deep down of course she was proud of him and herself since she was the one that raised him for the past nine years by herself. Clearly she did a good job in teaching him good values. It still didn't wash away the jealousy that once again her younger sibling was the center of attention.

"I don't know what gave you the idea that I'd be purposely keeping you away from Dr. Cykes" She mumbled, staring at him.

"Hmph…really? Because Athena….."

"Oh so you're taking advice from an 11 year old now?" She smirked. "Go on, what did your little friend tell you?"

"She said she thinks that you've got some kind of feelings for her mother."

Aura went back into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. "And you're going to believe her of course. Your little princess and her fairytales."

Simon laughed softly. "I had a feeling you'd deny it and while you raise a good point, Athena is a bit too sheltered to make up fantasies of mom and Miss Aura without some evidence to support her theory."

She shook her head at him. "You know I think you've been playing house with the princess too long if you actually believe that. Besides, what do you know about relationships? When was the last time you had a girlfriend?"

He returned his attention back to his book and stayed silent, hating when he didn't have a snappy comeback immediately to hurl back at her. "I might not be very experienced in love but I can tell when someone is clearly in-denial."

Aura came over grabbing him by his collar. "Look here. You may be older now and a lot taller than me but you're still the little brother and I'm still the boss of you. So it'd be in your best interest if you make sure these little thoughts of yours stay tucked in your head. Understand?"

Simon huffed and stared at her. "Fine…" He said, shrugging away from her grasp. He waited until she had gone into her bedroom and out of earshot before he mumbled. "Totally in-denial."


	2. Chapter 2

Athena had been on the floor coloring in one of her books, Simon sitting on the couch watching an anime on TV while Ponco cleaned the room. She absently lifted Simon's coat off the floor with her free hand so the robot could vacuum underneath it. There was a lot of commotion coming from outside, which is what finally broke Simon's concentration.

He looked over at Athena to see if she was bothered by the sounds, but he assumed she wouldn't with her headphones on.

"That's Apollo and Clay." She said, not looking up from her coloring book. "They hang around the space center a lot with Mr. Starbuck because one of them wants to be an astronaut. I can never remember which one. They're older than me but I think you're a little older than them."

He got up from his position on the couch peeking out the window to see two teenage boys wrestling around in the grass with each other. "How'd you know it was them?"

She finally looked up. "I recognized the sound of their voices. One of them, Apollo I think is really loud sometimes. He likes to yell." She watched the credits roll on the TV "I think it's cool that you're older but still watch cartoons."

Bluntness seemed to be Athena's specialty. Something Simon had gotten use to himself. He cleared his throat a bit looking at her. "It's not a cartoon, it's…."

"It's anime and it's for adults, I remember." He had told her that many times before. "Well then I think it's cool that you still like animated shows at your age." She corrected, giggling at him.

Simon hated when Aura teased him about watching anime but he didn't mind it as much when Athena did it. "I'll have you know it's a very good show."

"It has to be, you always get so emotional when you watch it." She smiled readjusting her headphones on her head.

"Hey, you know the rules. No reading my emotions while I'm watching TV." He snorted, though she knew he was just kidding.

Athena got up from where she was laying on the floor and went to look out the window. "The boy that wears the red with the funny hair is Apollo. And Clay is the other one." She pointed out, going back to their earlier conversation.

Simon went back over to the window. "They seem nice."

"They are. I play with them sometimes when they're up here."

"Do you ever get to play outside?"

Athena shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Not really, sometimes I can sit on the big hill with Juniper in the evening after the Space Center visitors leave because it's quiet." She stayed quiet for a little while before looking up at him. "It's okay. You don't have to be sad for me. I like staying inside and playing with you."

He smiled at her. "You caught me. Your mom says that you probably won't be this sensitive forever."

"She probably wishes I would so she can do more research. She doesn't care as much as you do Simon."

Simon frowned pulling her over to the couch sitting down with her. "Your mother loves you very much, I know you don't understand but she works hard to help you."

Athena looked at him returning his frown. "But you work hard at what you do too and you still have time for me."

Before he could answer that, Dr. Cykes opened the door. "Hey guys, having fun? Mind if I steal Simon away from you for a few minutes?"

Athena didn't respond and instead went back to her coloring book and crayons on the floor.

He got up, ruffling her ponytail as he walked past, going into the other room with her mother. "Is something wrong Dr. Cykes?"

"No Simon, I just wanted to personally say thank you. Not only have you been an excellent student but with Athena. I've never seen her take to someone as easily as she has to you. She's not even that comfortable with Solomon and Aura."

Simon rubbed the back of his head. "I should be the one thanking you. You're taking time out of your research to help me. I didn't do anything special…."

"You didn't have to. I don't have Athena's special hearing but she must hear the goodness in your heart that makes her feel so safe and protected. And it puts my mind at ease that there's at least one other person that understands her needs. Some days she seems more comfortable going to you than she does to me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause problems."

Dr. Cykes shook her head and waved her hand. "It's not your fault she and I have been having a tough time lately. She doesn't understand the research and it's frustrating her and she just wants to be like the other kids. But hopefully it won't be like that for too much longer. The headphones have been helping and as she gets older, it should get much weaker." She walked over and hugged him. "Thank you for being so kind to her Simon."

He hugged her back before he heard someone clear their throat and he quickly turned around. "Aura..."

"Simon." Aura mumbled glaring at him with Athena at her side trying to hide her smile. "Metis I wanted to talk to you about Clonco's emotions program. It seems to have a glitch in it again."

"I should get going; I have some papers to look over for court in the morning." He smiled walking over to Athena, kissing her on the cheek ignoring the glare he was still getting from Aura. "I'm working a big case that might take a few days, so I may not be able to stop by again for a couple of days. Aura has my number though so you can call and talk to me for a few minutes if you want to."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay Simon, see you later."

As Simon walked outside to get in his car, Aura followed him and smacked him on the shoulder. "What the hell was that?!"

He rubbed his shoulder a bit. "Ow, what the hell was what?"

"Don't play dumb, you two hugging?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "It was just a thank you hug, my god you've got it bad if you think I'm trying to move in on your woman." He laughed. "She's my mentor, I don't see her in the way you do, so don't worry."

Aura gave him a look and then let out a sigh. "Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me."

"You've been bitten by the love bug, is the easiest explanation."

"Not a word to anyone brat."

"Oh you don't have to worry about me spilling your secret. It's not like I can hear your heart screaming love every time you talk to the woman. Athena though, will probably spill the beans sooner or later though so you may want to think about doing it yourself soon."

Aura scoffed slightly. "I'll tell her after things calm down with the space launch."

* * *

Simon was busy for the remainder of the week on his current case. It was a complex murder and on the side he was helping the police try to track down some sort of international spy. Because he didn't have time to visit the space center like he normally did, Athena was allowed to use her mother's cell phone to text him whenever she wanted. Texting was better for her than talking on the phone because it didn't interfere with her hearing.

He was buried in paperwork on his desk when he heard his phone vibrating somewhere under the massive pile of papers. He fumbled through them searching for it, finding it about three minutes later. Athena had been texting him all morning, so he already knew what it was.

_I'm drawing a picture for mom – AC_

_What are you drawing? - SB_

_You as the Steel Samurai! – AC_

_Make me look good – SB_

A few moments after that final text, his phone rang. It was Athena, which surprised him since she didn't normally like talking on the phone. "Hello?" He said, writing notes in one of his case files. He could hear some ruffling around but no one said anything and then the line went dead. "Hmmm, she must have dialed me by mistake."

_Did you call me by accident? -SB_

Simon waited for ten minutes but there was no response. It was unlike Athena not to respond to texts quickly. She typically kept the phone next to her when she sent him messages and he found himself growing anxious and impatient, so he decided he would call. The phone rang and there was no answer. Now he was beginning to worry. He called Aura's phone but there was no answer with her either.

He had a lunch break. Enough time to drive over to the space center just to make sure everything was okay. He was always one to obey all laws but he was driving a little over the speed limit this time. Something about this didn't feel right. He parked and quickly walked through the doors and upstairs, barely giving Clonco a chance to address him. It was the middle of the day so the Psych lab was the most logical place to go, but it was empty. Robotics lab was next on the list. He opened the door slowly, first noticing the blood that was pooled at his feet. His eyes widened and he quickly scanned the room, finding Dr Cykes on the floor by the window and Athena on the floor by the table.

He quickly went over to Athena. She had blood on her, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Athena! Athena wake up." He yelled, violently shaking her. The girl let out a soft sound and he quickly scooped her up off the floor. His eyes scanned over to Dr. Cykes seeing the blade sticking out of her stomach. He was a prosecutor, he saw things like this all the time but this was different. He dug in his pocket for his phone dialing 911.

"Yes, hello. I need an ambulance at the Cosmos Space Center." He tried to calm himself down but his hand was trembling.

When he hung up the phone he turned his attention back to Athena tucking her under his trench coat. He knew not to disturb the crime scene but he needed to talk to Athena before the police did. He slowly came out of the robotics lab and went upstairs to the apartment. Once inside, he laid her on the couch and quickly surveyed her body as she started to squirm. It seemed like none of the blood was hers. He noticed a bruise on her side and a bump on her forehead but other than that, no other trauma.

"Simon….." Athena whispered slowly opening her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay I'm here. You're fine." He whispered, caressing her head with one hand while still dialing Aura with his free hand.

"What's wrong Simon?" She asked him. It was then Simon noticed her headphones had slipped off, so she could probably hear every last emotion in his voice loud and clear.

"Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry." He took Athena into the bathroom and cleaned her up and changed her clothes.

Once he finished that, the police had arrived and had knocked on the door. He explained to them that after he called he came upstairs to check on Athena to make sure she was okay, whom he found taking a nap. It was a complete lie but he felt like it was the best story at the moment. Because the officers knew Simon, he had convinced them to let Athena remain with him for now. They were evacuating the entire Space Center so they escorted them downstairs. It appeared that no one else had been hurt thankfully but he still hadn't heard from Aura.

Athena gripped on tight to the inside of his trench coat as she walked with him. Even with her headphones on there were so many people talking. "Why is everyone so scared Simon?"

Normally he always gave Athena a response but this time he decided to remain silent. By her questions it was clear that she didn't seem to remember anything about the room he had found her in. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard Aura's voice.

"What the hell did I miss here?"

"Where the hell have you been? I called your phone multiple times!" He glared, though his voice was weak and trembling.

"I left a blueprint at home I had to get and left my phone in my car.…." She stated staring at him. "Simon, what's wrong? What happened?"

He sighed softly running a hand through his hair. "Something happened. There was a murder."

Aura's eyes widened. "What? Here?" Her eyes scanned the crowd. She saw Yuri Cosmos talking to some officers, most of the space center staff, Starbuck who was checking on Clay and Apollo and she could see Athena peek out from under Simon's coat every now and then. "…Simon where's Metis?"

He looked away from her and sighed softly. "Aura…"

"No, Simon this isn't funny. I know you're use to seeing this stuff at work but where's…"

He reached over putting a hand on her shoulder, feeling Athena shift under his coat a bit. "We're going to be okay….."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Simon's story, Athena's questioning was pretty standard. They asked if anything was strange that morning or if her mother seemed worried. She silently shook her head. Simon was allowed to stay in the room with her since she was a minor and when they were finished, he sent her to go back to his home with Aura, while he answered questions himself.

"Prosecutor Blackquill, why were you at the space center?" Edgeworth asked, sitting down in front of him.

"Sir, my sister works as a robotics engineer and researcher so sometimes I went to visit her at work. She introduced me to Dr. Cykes and she started mentoring me in Psychology. I had become a family friend." He replied quietly.

"I'm very sorry for your loss. Do you think this might be related to our case with the spy?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. I don't believe that Dr. Cykes had any enemies of her own. Everyone loved her at the space center and she lived on campus so it didn't require her to leave much."

Edgeworth nodded. "Well as a conflict of interest, you know I can't let you handle this case directly. But with the way you think, you'd be an asset to have as a consultant."

Simon looked at him. "Can I ask you something? What will happen to Athena?"

He sighed softly. "Well we've managed to locate some family in Europe. She doesn't seem to have any relatives in the country. She'd have to stay in the custody of child services until they arrive to take her with them."

"Europe?! That can't happen. She can't just be uprooted from the only home she's ever had. I-I'd like to take custody of her if it's possible."

Edgeworth stared at him surprised. "Prosecutor Blackquill, I don't believe that would be a good idea. You're still very young and custody of a child might be better well suited…"

"Please. My sister is 30. Surely that is old enough to deem us both responsible for her care right? Athena has very special needs and I'm worried that her relatives may not know how to properly care for her the way my sister and I have learned from her mother."

He stayed silent for a moment. "If the girl wants to stay with you and her relatives are okay with it, then yes, we would be able to release her into the care of you and your sister. I hope you understand what you're getting yourself into."

Simon grabbed his hand and shook it. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to all of us."

"You're welcome. I will give you the rest of the week off so you can get everything in order. Athena can stay in your care until her relatives arrive."

* * *

Aura sat on the couch back at their apartment and sighed softly. It seemed like Simon had been down at the courthouse for far too long. It was strange to feel like she needed him, she was the older sibling but right now all she wanted was for him to be home. He was all she had left and she couldn't lose him. Athena stared out the window in silence, probably looking for Simon as well. She hadn't really been alone with the child before. She was too angry and too hurt to think about changing that now.

Relief washed over her face when she heard the front door unlock. Simon hung up his coat as Athena quickly ran over to him, though she didn't say anything. He smiled at her ruffling her hair. "It's been a really long day we should probably get some sleep, okay?" He took Athena's hand and took her to his room. He stayed back there for about 25 minutes until she fell asleep and then came to sit on the couch next to Aura.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, first to break the silence. Dr. Cykes was his mentor but he clearly wasn't as close to her as Aura and Athena.

Aura wiped her face and let out a huff. "There's nothing you could have done."

"Maybe if I would have been there.."

"If you would have been there, you'd probably be dead too." She said staring at him. "Simon Blackquill I swear if anything ever happens to you….."

"Nothing is going to happen to me…" He sighed.

"You better make sure it doesn't. Do they have any information yet?"

Simon shook his head. "Not yet, but they will."

"You said you found the princess in the apartment. But she's got bruises and she didn't have those when I last saw her earlier that morning. And as clumsy as she is, she usually never falls that hard. You're hiding something aren't you?"

He ran a hand through his hair. Lying to Aura was useless as she always found a way to drag information out of him. "Okay I lied…she was in the room with….she was passed out on the floor. I assume whoever did it, must have hit her. And before you ask why, she doesn't seem to remember anything and I didn't want the police to traumatize her."

Aura shot him another glare. "With the way you baby her it's no wonder that she wouldn't remember. She should have been interviewed. They could have pressed something and it might have jogged her memory. She could know something that could help us find the bastard who did this. What's wrong with you?!"

"Aura just stop. She's a child and she lost her mother. I wasn't about to sit back and let them interrogate her." He responded trying to keep his voice low so he didn't wake Athena. "She barely left her house; she'd probably be scared to death talking to a bunch of cops. I understand you're hurting but Athena's hurting just as much as you are."

She looked away from him staring in the direction of the window. "They're still going on with the launch tomorrow. What happens now?"

"Dr. Cykes family will be flying in from Europe within the next few days to plan the funeral…"

"And they will take Athena?"

Simon bit his lip. "I'm actually going to ask that she stay here…with us."

Aura turned to look at him. "What?"

"They would take her back to Europe and I don't think she knows them very well. We're the only family she has here. What if they don't understand her special ability?"

"We're not here family. We were two people who worked under her mother. Simon we barely understand it ourselves! We've never taken care of her before. We don't know anything about it besides what Metis told us about her research, which wasn't much. She's homeschooled most of the time and you work. Besides you're only 20. Do you really want to spend the next 7 years taking care of a child? I did it and you didn't have any special abilities and it wasn't easy."

"I know all of this. I know it's not going to be easy, but I promised…..I promised her mother that I would look out for her and take care of her. And I will honor that promise no matter how difficult it is. Imagine what would have happened to me if you didn't take me. If I would have been shipped off to some random relative after mom passed away. Athena's all we've got left of Dr. Cykes, so we should protect her with our lives."

Aura shook her head, arms still crossed over her chest. "Don't try to play the guilt card on me Simon. Metis would want to Athena to be with people who can take care of her best."

"I can do that Aura, I promise. Just please, give me the chance to do it..."

She looked at him and sighed. "Fine Simon. But this isn't going to be as easy as you think it is. Play dates are far different than being a guardian." She got up off the couch and went to her room.

Simon wanted to roll his eyes at her comment but he knew that she was right. Playing with her for a few hours a day would probably be much different than raising her full time. He was determined to do it though. He couldn't protect Metis from her fate but he could protect Athena.

He wasn't going to sleep that night, so he made himself comfortable for a night on the couch, not wanting to wake Athena if he could help it. He wasn't going to have cases to distract him, so a book would have to do. He eyed the psychology book, it was the last thing he had been reading but he wasn't sure if he wanted to look at it right now considering where it came from.

Just as he was reaching to get a dry law book, he heard footsteps coming from the hall.

"Simon…" Athena whispered.

He smiled and held his hands out so she could sit on his lap. "Where are your headphones?"

"I don't need them when it's just you and Miss. Aura."

"Couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Miss Aura sounds really sad in her room. She really misses mom. I wish we could go back to the space center."

Simon frowned a little, playing with her ponytail. "I wish we could too, but it's probably going to be off limits for a few days while they look for clues." He hesitated before asking the next question. "Athena, I need to ask you something that may be hard."

Athena turned around to face him, studying his face. "You want to know if I saw something right?" She bit her lip closing her eyes. "I remember drawing a picture. It was a picture of you Simon. I wanted mom to see it. So I went to the robotics lab but when I opened the door…..I was so scared. I was scared that you were hurt. I can't remember anything else Simon, I'm sorry."

He pulled her close to his chest, kissing her head. "It's okay."

"What's going to happen to me, now that mom is gone? I don't have a dad and I don't really know my Aunt and Uncle. They only come to visit on holidays."

"Well, I'm going to ask them if…you can stay here with me. Would that be okay?"

She smiled softly, the first smile he saw today. "Really? I can stay here with you?"

"It would be my honor." He reached over to the end table grabbing a pad and paper. "We've got some business to handle first though. You're going to have to tell me all the stuff you like."


End file.
